1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting diode (LED) package and a method of manufacturing the same, and more specifically, an LED package, which can minimize a deviation of the color coordinate and can be reduced in size, and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, LEDs generate minority carriers (electrons and holes) injected by using a p-n junction structure of semiconductor and then recombine them to emit light. That is, when a forward voltage is applied to a semiconductor of a specific element, electrons and holes are recombined through migration in a positive-negative junction. Then, energy level is dropped, thereby emitting light.
Since the LEDs can irradiate high-efficiency light using a low voltage, the LEDs can be used in home appliances, remote controls, electric signs, displays, various automated equipments and the like.
In particular, as information communication devices are reduced in size and are slimmed, various parts of the devices such as resistors, condensers, noise filters and the like are further reduced in size. Recently, the LEDs are produced in the form of surface mount devices (SMDs) to be directly mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB).
LED packages manufactured in the form of SMD are divided into top-view type and side-view type LED packages, depending on the use thereof.
Hereinafter, a conventional LED package will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional LED package.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional LED package includes a lead frame 50 composed of a pair of lead terminals, a package 10 formed of synthetic resin so as to house portions of the lead frame 50 therein, an LED chip 30 mounted on the lead frame 50 positioned inside the package 10, an electrode connection portion 40 for electrically connecting the LED chip 30 and the lead frame 50, and a molding material 20 which is filled in the package 10 so as to protect the LED chip 30 and the electrode connection portion 40, the molding material including phosphor.
Meanwhile, general standards for determining the characteristics of an LED chip are a color, luminance, an intensity range of luminance and so on. Such characteristics of the LED chip are primarily determined by a material of a compound semiconductor used in the LED chip, and are secondarily affected by the structure of a package for mounting the LED chip and a molding material including phosphor filled in the package. In particular, the phosphor of the molding material filled in such an LED package has a great effect upon luminance of the LED chip and luminance distribution.
In the conventional LED package, a voluminous space for filling the molding material is constant. Therefore, an amount of coated phosphor can be constantly maintained so as to minimize a deviation of the color coordinate. As a result, it is possible to implement high luminance.
Recently, as a demand for high luminance of a screen and reduction in thickness of an LCD panel increases, the reduction in size and thickness of an LED package is considered to be an urgent problem.
In the above-described LED package, however, there is a limit in minimizing the height of the package for securing the space required for filling the molding material including phosphor. Therefore, there are difficulties in reducing the size and thickness of the LED package.
That is, although the deviation of the color coordinate can be minimized, there are difficulties in reducing the size and thickness of the LED package.